Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Largest Freefall Formation record in February 2006 with 400 skydivers linked together thousands of feet above Udon Thani, Thailand.
Photo © Wendy Smith
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THE ROYAL SKY DIAMOND JUBILEE 2006 CELEBRATION
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JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 9, 2006
Udon Thani, Thailand |
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FEBRUARY 11, 2006
The New Suvarnabhumi Airport
Bangkok, Thailand |
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Throughout 2006, Thailand celebrates the auspicious occasion of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Sixtieth Anniversary or the Diamond Jubilee of His Majesty’s Accession to the Throne. An inspiration to his subjects, and highly respected by world leaders around the globe, the King of Thailand, the ninth ruler of the Royal House of Chakri and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history, is the world’s longest reigning, living monarch.
AN AMAZING STORY OF COOPERATION
The World Team '06 - Royal Sky Celebration is a collaborative effort by the Royal Thai Armed Forces and World Team, a highly skilled international team of skydivers, camera flyers, pilots, judges, and support personnel from around the world who have established multiple world records since the team's genesis in 1994. World Team '06 and the Royal Thai Air Force plan to achieve two new world records to honour His Majesty during the Royal Sky Celebration in 2006.
"These next few weeks will demonstrate the spirit of uncommon imagination and international cooperation toward a common goal, culminating in two world records", Kevin Gibson, Media Director, Royal Sky Celebration remarked.
On February 8, 2006, a team of 400 skydivers representing 31 nations and the Royal Thai Air Force established a new World Record for the largest connected formation skydive in the skies over Udon Thani, Thailand. This exceptional achievement breaks World Team's current Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Largest Freefall Formation record of 357 skydivers.
The second will be 960 parachutists conducting the Largest Mass Freefall Jump for the inauguration of Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport. A total of 700 freefalling sportmen and women will join 260 paratroopers representing all services of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, to set this amazing new Guinness Book World Record.
In addition to pursuing sporting achievements, World Team strives to enhance global knowledge and interaction between its own culturally-diverse team members—who themselves represent 40+ nations—and its host nation. During the past eight years, World Team has forged an enduring relationship with the Kingdom of Thailand and its people.
THE ROYAL THAI AIR FORCE (RTAF)
The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has a long and colourful history in support of international skydiving events. In addition to the many skydiving festivals that have taken place at RTAF bases over the years, the RTAF was the significant force in developing and supporting the first Royal Sky Celebration in 1999 – both on the ground and in the air.
The RTAF, especially its air crews, are vital members of World Team. Without their precise skills of flying aircraft in tight formation at high altitudes, it would not be possible for World Team to make large formation world record skydives.
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400-person World Record Formation Design Plan
Photos © World Team '06
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In 2004, five years after the first Royal Sky Celebration, the RTAF pilots again pushed the envelope with the World Team skydivers. On their first jump in five days, World Team set a new world record by successfully linking 357 skydivers in freefall.
This record still stands today in the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) and Guinness record books.
Joining forces for a final Royal Sky Celebration in 2006, World Team and the Royal Thai Air Force have raised the bar on their joint aerial exploits. On February 8, 2006, the RTAF became the first air crews in the world to drop skydivers while flying five C-130s in tight formation at high altitude. The five C-130s launched 400 skydivers quickly enough so they were able to link together in freefall to build the world’s largest freefall formation.
In honour of His Majesty the King and the citizens of Thailand, the colour pattern of the formation was designed to precisely match the colour pattern of the Thai flag. If the Thai flag is drawn together between the top centre and bottom centre, and is then fanned out to form a circle, it looks remarkably like the colour pattern of the formation.
The Skydives
Dive Design and Formation Colour Patten
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World Team'06 Participating Countries
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Russia, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States of America, Venezuela
Royal Sky Celebration 1999
During the first Royal Sky Celebration, the RTAF air crews flew in excess of 100 sorties at 22,000 feet – becoming the world’s first pilots to drop skydivers while flying four C-130 Hercules in tight formation at high altitudes. Throughout those record attempts, the RTAF air crews were always on their mark – flying relative to each other during their 4-ship formation flights, and dropping the World Team skydivers over their target at the Ubon Ratchathani Air Base. The result of this close collaboration was a new FAI world record 282-person skydiving formation.
Royal Sky Celebration 2004
Five years after the first Royal Sky Celebration, the RTAF pilots again pushed the envelope with the World Team skydivers. Flying more than 20 4-ship formation flights over Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat) in 2004, RTAF’s senior C-130 pilots dropped hundreds of skydivers from an altitude of 24,000 feet, again flying in tight formation. On the final day of the event, the weather in Khorat was non-jumpable, so on a 15 minute notice, the RTAF moved its fleet of five Hercs (including a support aircraft) 200 km west to Wing 4 at Takhli. On their first jump in five days, World Team set a new world record by successfully linking 357 skydivers in freefall. This record still stands today in the FAI and Guinness record books.
Royal Sky Celebration 2006
Joining forces for a final Royal Sky Celebration, World Team and the Royal Thai Air Force have raised the bar on their joint aerial exploits.
FLIGHT PROFILE FOR C-130 FORMATIONS FLIGHTS FOR
ROYAL SKY CELEBRATIONS 2006
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C-130
Photo © Royal Thai Air Force |
On multiple-ship formation flights, the RTAF C-130s climb in loose formation, taking approximately 25 minutes to reach exit altitude. On jump run, the C-130s slow their air speed to 130 knots, and move into exit position – with the aircraft aligned in a V-formation. The #2 and #3 aircraft are positioned 45° to the side, 75 metres behind, and 20 metres below the lead aircraft. The #4 and #5 aircraft fly in a similar configuration off the outboard wings of the #2 and #3 aircraft.
Two minutes before dropping, the Aircraft Controller / Crew Chief in each aircraft signal for all skydivers to stand-up and make final preparations to jump. One minute before dropping, the skydivers move en masse toward the exit ramp. 10 seconds prior to exiting, the skydivers unhook their on-board oxygen, position themselves on the edge of the tailgate, and exit four-abreast as quickly as possible. After the mass exits, the ramps are closed, and the C-130’s descend toward the runway in loose formation.
BT-67
In addition to the C-130 aircraft support in Udon Thani, RTAF pilots from Squadron 461 will fly a BT-67 to lift the Alpha Team to exit altitude in this highly modified turbo-charged C-47. The BT-67 carries 44 skydivers, and climbs to exit altitude in only 15 minutes.
For more about the Royal Thai Air Force, please click on this link
THE ROYAL THAI AIR FORCE
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WORLD RECORD MASS FREE-FALL JUMP
The sport parachutists of Thailand have collaborated twice in the past with World Team skydivers to set a new Guinness Book World Record for the Largest Mass Freefall Jump. The current world record took place in February 2004, and stands at 672 parachutists. The venues for the 1999 and 2004 Mass Freefall Jumps took place in downtown Bangkok at the Sanam Luang Royal Ceremonial Grounds.
During the Royal Sky Celebration in 2006, a new Mass Freefall Jump world record will be set in Thailand with 960 parachutists on 11 February. The Mass Freefall World Record will take place at Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi Airport. This modern international airport has been in development for ten years, and was conferred with its name (meaning “Golden Land”) on 29 January 2000, by His Majesty the King.
World Team '04
Photo by Dinah Leib |
World Team '99
Photo by
Brian Stamm |
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The criteria for a world record Mass Freefall Jump are:
- All participants must make a freefall parachute jump
- All participants must be flying in aircraft simultaneously at the start of the first jump
- All participants must exit their aircraft within a relatively common air space
- at least one participant must be in freefall or under an open canopy from the start of the mass jump until its completion
- An accurate roster including the names of all participants must be prepared that includes each person’s full name, nationality, and gender
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For the 2006 event, international parachutists from 40+ nations will participate on the World Record Mass Freefall Jump. The Thai parachutists are primarily from the Royal Thai Armed Forces – Air Force, Army, Navy, and Police – but a few Thai civilian parachutists will participate as well. World Team will provide approximately half of the total participants.
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G-222
Photo © Royal Thai Air Force |
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The Royal Thai Air Force is responsible for providing all the aircraft support for the parachutists who will be jumping on the world record. To lift all 960 parachutists, the RTAF will fly seven of their C-130s, one Fiat G-222 and two BT-67 (turbo-prop C-47s), and will be joined by another C-130 provided by the Singapore Armed Forces. On the actual jump, the aircraft will fly in a loose in-line formation at an altitude of 6,600 feet, spaced approximately 90 seconds between aircraft. When each aircraft reaches the exit point over Suvarnabhumi Airport, the parachutists will jump from the tailgates of the C-130s and G-222s in lines of 4-abreast, and exit the BT-67s in single file.
After freefalling for approximately 10 seconds, each parachutist will open his or her parachute and start gliding to the Landing Zone. By the time each successive aircraft full of parachutists jumps, the group in front of them will have glided their chutes to a point well below the opening altitude. Layers of hundreds of parachutes will fill the sky for about 15 minutes. The Landing Zone will consist of the huge grass infield between the airport runways.
After the mass freefall jump, the Royal Thai Air Force will make a low pass in tight formation with all aircraft that were involved in the new world record. Following this, there will be an air show for all the spectators. Thailand’s Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is serving as honorary Chairman of the World Record Mass Freefall Jump Organizing Committee.
There is expected to be extensive national and international media coverage of this massive air sports extravaganza. Thai government plans to bus multitudes of Thai spectators to the Suvarnabhumi Airport to observe this event live.
For more information, please visit:
Web site: www.theworldteam.com
World Team Participant Statistics
| Total Members: |
550 |
| Camera flyers: |
14 |
| Documentary team: |
3 |
| Ground staff: |
21 |
| Support team: |
71 |
Qualifying Jumpers |
441 |
Female |
143 (17.25%) |
Male |
407 (82.75%) |
Oldest |
65 in April |
Youngest |
19 |
Average age |
44 |
Most total jumps |
22,000 |
Fewest jumps |
620 |
More than 10,000 jumps |
41 |
Average jumps |
4,800 |
Most years jumping |
42.8 |
Fewest years jumping |
6 |
Average years jumping |
20.1 |
Media Opportunities
The skydiving world records provide a backdrop to present the story of the Kingdom of Thailand and the cooperation among world cultures and interests. The World Team media staff stands ready to coordinate video news releases for broadcasts on the world news to assist with documentary and magazine coverage of this remarkable effort, and to arrange one-on-one interviews with World Team members, with translators available.
Contact information:
Media and Public Relations:
E-mail: prworldteam06@yahoo.com
Media director on-site in Thailand
Tel: +66 (0) 1 426 9266 |
